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Maxis Kinoabenteuer - Big cinema adventures for small children Film exhibitors do recognise the importance of the youngest audience. German cinemas are now addressing this specific niche for the first time with a joint concept. Maxis Kinoabenteuer is a project offering 4 year old children, even outside the festivals, a high quality selection of short films and embedding them with custom made moderations. We asked Petra Rockefeller, one of the initiators, about the origins and the evolution of the project. Petra Rockefeller: The idea for Maxis Kinoabenteuer actually came from a grouping called PROARTHAUS, uniting 12 independent exhibitors. These cinema enthusiasts meet regularly to exchange stats and figures on one hand and on the other to develop new creative concepts, often based on committed efforts on the spot. The core of the group wanted to develop, based on their experience with Kitakino, a year round overall concept in which the youngest audience is introduced to the world of cinema through beautiful short films
from renowned film festivals. Who is involved in the project? Rockefeller: Out of these 12 cinema theatres, 8 were convinced to join the start-up phase. They have jointly submitted applications for short film funding to the German Federal Film Board (Filmförderungsanstalt FFA). A promotional concept with a mascot (a squirrel named Maxi) and live moderations, advertising material - printed as well as social media and a cinema trailer – was developed and implemented. Mo & Friese, Kuki and the International Short Film Festival in Oberhausen were immediately open to the idea of having these short film series curated externally. The final goal is to carefully wake children’s interest in cinema language through a variety of short films, while meanwhile introducing them to the cultural space called ‘the cinema’. How was the first response? Rockefeller: We implemented the first event in the Kurzfilmtag (short film day), so that we could simultane-
CAT LAKE CITY in Maxis Kinoabenteuer selection
ously introduce Maxis Kinoabenteuer to the respective short film portals. We presented a ‘winter compilation’, a series of short films touching various aspects of the winter season, selected for us by the Mo & Friese festival team. We were able to inspire almost 600 guests. It is really exciting for us that already for the first screening the word was out and now it is the kindergartens themselves who are applying. And we are of course very happy to offer them this opportunity. Participating cinemas are Broadway (Trier), Casino (Aschaffenburg), Cinenova (Cologne), Cinexx (Hachenburg), Lichtwerk (Bielefeld), Lichtburg Filmpalast (Oberhausen), Scala (Lüneburg) and Thalia (Pots-
dam). We wish Petra Rockefeller and the Maxis Kinoabenteuer initiative best of luck with the project.
The Short Cut column is published with the help of the Mo&Friese KinderKurzFilmFestival dedicated to short films. As a part of the Hamburg Short Film Agency the festival aims to present documentaries and experimental films in addition to animation and short films as well as to arouse the curiosity of children and to stimulate their imagination.
12 | Journal 01 | 2020
